Woman's Arrest Angers Cyclists

Glen Martin, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published
4:00 am PDT, Monday, August 3, 1998

1998-08-03 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- An arrest of an apparent bystander during Friday's Critical Mass ride has resulted in howls of protest from bicyclists, who say it is the latest example of deteriorating relations between police and riders.

Riders claim that an officer hit the female bystander in the face with his elbow while trying to take into custody another cyclist who was evading arrest. The woman, a cyclist identified as Carla Arellano, 21, by Sheriff's spokeswoman Eileen Hirst, was arrested along with a male rider, identified as Casey Allen, 23, both of San Francisco.

They were booked into San Francisco County Jail on felony charges of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest.

Allen also was charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and failing to obey a police officer, Hirst said.

David Skinner, a cyclist from Albany who witnessed the event, said police tackled Allen near the corner of Church and Market streets after he evaded motorcycle officers for several blocks.

Allen allegedly refused to stop for police after running a red light.

"When they jumped on him, they knocked the woman down," Skinner said. "She tried to scoot away on her butt, but this motorcycle officer went after her and got on top of her, raised his right arm and punched her in the face."

Skinner said that "a groan went through the crowd" when Arellano was struck.

Arellano was released on her own recognizance over the weekend, Hirst said. Allen was still in custody yesterday.

San Francisco Police Chief Fred Lau said any complaints resulting from the alleged incident will probably be investigated by the Office Of Citizen Complaints, the city's police watchdog agency.

"We would appreciate any witnesses representing either side coming forward, either to the OCC or my management control division," said Lau. "I have to emphasize that any accused officers also have the right to give their version."

Cyclist Giovanni DePaolis also witnessed the event and said he thought Allen rather than police officers knocked Arellano over, but that he saw the motorcycle officer strike her in the face with his elbow.

"I was standing there with her and she puts up her hands and says something like 'Why are you chasing him?'," DePaolis said. "After he checked her, he started wrestling with her and then he put the cuffs on her."

Some riders feel that the arrests are symptomatic of a worsening relationship between bicyclists and police officers.

"It used to be that riders and officers would joke together during Critical Mass," said a cyclist who requested anonymity. "But the animosity is growing."